Celebs lend a hand at Victoria Park
Celebrities descended on Victoria Park to lead an
army of volunteers to transform a derelict building and yard into a
community garden and classroom to enable school children to learn
about ecology.
Pop duo Jedward joined ex-Eastenders stars Nicola Stapleton and
Joe Swash; Melinda Messenger and Cowboy Builders’ handyman John
Russell for the P&G Capital Clean Up on June 9.
The television stars and volunteers spent more than eight hours
getting their hands dirty; clearing weeds, removing debris,
painting the fences and planting flowers in the park.
New tarmac was laid down and a mural of urban art was created
and installed on the front of the old storage sheds. One of the
garages in the yard was transformed to an indoor facility where the
children can store their belongings and clean up as sinks were
installed.
Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman said: “I am delighted with
the outcome of the Capital Clean Up and would like to thank
everyone who took part. The new community area will benefit our
users and young people for years to come and is a welcome addition
to Victoria Park. Improving our parks and open spaces is a priority
for me.”
Dave Hime, Victoria Park Development Officer who helped organise
the event said: “This was a very challenging day but the team of
volunteers and the celebrities pulled out all the stops to achieve
a fantastic end result.
It was overwhelming to see how everyone worked so hard together
to turn this old derelict area of the park into a place that will
be well used by the community as a whole.”
The clean-up was part of the P&G Capital Clean Up, a three
month programme run in partnership with The Greater London
Authority with the aim of helping London look its best for the
London 2012 Olympic Games and beyond.
Cllr Shahed Ali, lead member for environment added: “Victoria
Park is a great community park which provides a range of resources
for residents to take advantage of. I look forward to the new area
being well used.”
The clean up will be aired on Channel 5 on Saturday evening,
June 23.
June 21, 2012